Deaths of 98 More Falun Gong Practitioners Confirmed in July (Photos)

Clearwisdom correspondent Li Ming reports: the genocidal persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang Zemin's group that began on July 20th 1999 has spanned six years. During those past six years, at least 2,739 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death. These cases have been confirmed through independent channels. At least 98 additional deaths were verified in July 2005.

Among these 98 deaths that were verified in July, 37 Falun Gong practitioners died between January and July 2005, and eight practitioners died in July. The demographics: 57 practitioners were women, representing 57% of the death toll; 47%, that is 46 practitioners, were older than 55 years. According to preliminary statistics on the Clearwisdom website, at least 308 Falun Gong practitioners died as a result of persecution between January and July 2005.

The 98 deaths happened in 20 provinces, cities and autonomic regions: 14 deaths in Heilongjiang Province, 13 deaths in Hebei Province, 13 in Liaoning Province, 12 in Shandong Province, 7 in Sichuan Province, 7 in Beijing, 4 in Jilin Province, 4 in Hunan Province, 3 in Tianjin City, 2 in Hubei Province, 2 in Henan Province, 2 in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 2 in Guangdong Province, 2 in Fujian Province, 2 in Shanxi Province, 2 in Zhejiang Province, 1 in Guizhou Province, 1 in Jiangsu Province, 1 in Hainan Province, and 1 death in Shanghai. Because of the CCP's severe information blockade, the regions of another three practitioners have yet to be verified.

During the six years of persecution, the police and the 610 Office (1) relentlessly persecuted Falun Gong practitioners under direct orders from the CCP and Jiang's group. The ages of the 98 victims range from 29 years to past 70. They were savagely tortured and mentally tormented simply because they persisted in their belief in the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, and tried to improve their moral character and become healthy.

Practitioner Mr. Yuan Qingjiang tortured to death on July 23rd -- the third Falun Gong practitioner tortured to death at Daqing Prison in the past three months.

Mr. Yuan Qingjiang was 41 years old and lived in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. On March 7th 2003, during the "Two Conferences" he was abducted and illegally sentenced to prison. He was sent to Harbin City Prison, where guard Zhang Jiushan, inmates Guan Dejun, Wang Shijun and others forced him to stand for 18 days without sleeping. As a result of the torture, he developed pleurisy and lost control of his limbs. He eventually lost consciousness.

On July 1st 2004, Yuan Qingjiang was transferred to Division 6, Daqing Prison. After May 1st 2005, Daqing Prison authorities intensified the persecution of Dafa practitioners. More than ten practitioners held a hunger strike to protest the persecution and were detained in solitary confinement and forced to sit on the iron chair. Between May 30th and June 1st Yuan Qingjiang was tied up for three days. Perpetrators were Dong Fenghuan, head of Division 6, and the deputy division head. Dong Fenghuan personally beat Yuan Qingjiang until he vomited blood and his arms and legs were severely injured from being tied up. He developed cirrhosis and his abdomen and genitals badly swelled up while the rest of his body was emaciated. Yuan Qingjiang went on a hunger strike to protest the abuse.

The authorities at Daqing Prison refused to grant Yuan Qingjiang medical treatment when he was on the brink of death. He passed away on July 23rd 2005.

After Yuan Qingjiang passed away, the prison authorities sent his body to a hospital and pretended to try to rescue him. The doctor, however, revealed the truth. Yuan Qingjiang's family has never seen his body, and the prison authorities are coercing his family to sign a document to agree to cremation. They claimed that his family would be "disrupting official duties" if they refused to sign the document and threatened to file a lawsuit. They also extorted tens of thousands of yuan (2) from his family in the name of "medical fees."

Wang Hongde

Yuan Qingjiang was the third Falun Gong practitioner tortured to death at Daqing Prison in the past three months. The other two practitioners tortured to death were Mr. Wang Hongde, 56 years old from Daqing City, who was tortured to death on May 14th 2005 and Mr. Xu Jishan, 41 years old, who was drowned by five inmates under the order of prison guards on June 7th 2005.

The CCP has murdered countless innocent lives and Daqing Prison is only one of many of its agents of death.

Xu Jishan and his son

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Su Jingyan, 38 years old, from Liaoning Province was beaten to death by police, and then her body was thrown into a pond to make it look like death from a drowning accident.

Ms. Su Jingyan, 38 years old, was a skilled tailor, and lived in Tielian Village, Dashiqiao City, Liaoning Province. When the persecution began in 1999, she was detained at a drug rehabilitation centre, a detention centre and later a forced labour camp for appealing for Falun Dafa. In early August 2001, she was sentenced to three years of forced labour. The police drove her and a few other female practitioners to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp in Liaoning Province. Su Jingyan jumped off the bus when nearing Shenyang City and escaped the police. Penniless and barefooted, Su Jingyan with help from strangers went back to Dashiqiao City.

Around 9:00 a.m. on August 21th 2001, practitioners Su Jingyan, Ma Suyan and Zhao Guiqin went to Lishan District to distribute leaflets exposing the persecution. They never returned. On August 23rd it was learned that the police had abducted Ma Suyan and Zhao Guiqin and were holding them at a detention centre or custody centre, while Su Jingyan was found dead in a pond in Xiatun, Dashiqiao City. On August 24th the police told all village and township governments in Dashiqiao City that Falun Gong practitioners were distributing flyers, and when the police arrived, they only apprehended two practitioners and the other one escaped and drowned. As no one knew where she was from, the police publicised the information for local authorities to come and identify the body.

An insider at Jinqiao Police Department in Dashiqiao City who participated in the act and contributed to her death revealed that on August 21st 2001, officials from Jinqiao Police Department arrested her. She was asked whether she had distributed the flyers in Lishan District. Su Jingyan refused to cooperate with them. As a result she was beaten to death and her body was thrown into a pond to make it look like a death from drowning.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Lin Feng from Nanchong City, Sichuan Province brutally tortured for persisting in her belief

Ms. Lin Feng was 36 years old and lived in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province. Police abducted her from home during the Chinese New Year 2003. The police ransacked her home and took some Dafa books and materials. They sentenced her to three years of forced labour and sent her to Nanmusi Female Labour Camp and later to Chengdu Prison in Zizhong County, Sichuan Province.

Because she refused to give up her belief in Dafa, Lin Feng was brutally tortured. When her family went to visit her the police told her family, "She didn't renounce her belief, even after we exhausted all of our methods on her."

Lin Feng was injected with psychotic drugs during detention, which led to pathological changes and also a nervous breakdown. Her whole body swelled and she could not walk. Her kidneys failed and she was at the brink of death. The doctor issued numerous "Notice of Critical State." Perpetrators from the National Security Bureau notified her family in June 2005. They forced her family to sign a document to relieve the government of all responsibilities related to Lin Feng.

During the 15 days of Lin Feng's hospitalisation, some other practitioners risked their safety and went to visit her. They also checked on her condition. Lin Feng's body was black and blue and she said to fellow practitioners, "I don't have any intact skin on my body. The doctor told me I need blood transfusions on a daily basis or I won't live long." The National Security Bureau thoroughly monitored the hospital and constantly threatened the doctor and medical staff there. Lin Feng passed away at 5:00 a.m. on July 26th 2005.

Mr. Li Huazi and 29-year-old Mr. Cai Yong passed away after enduring horrific abuse

Mr. Li Huazi, 70 years old, lived in Xiyu Village, Yanglin Town, Hanchuan City, Hubei Province. He started practising Falun Gong in 1997 and gained better health and peace of mind. While Falun Gong suffered persecution he remained steadfast. In March 2000, Mr. Li was arrested and detained in the No. 2 Detention Centre in Hanchuan by staff from the "610 Office." He was released after being detained for several months. In November of that same year, Mr. Li went to Beijing to appeal. Police arrested him on the way and locked him up in Shijiazhuang Detention Centre. While there, he suffered brutal torture: the police hammered a row of nails into a wooden block, with the nails protruding one or two centimetres. They then punctured Mr. Li's palms with the wooden block and beat him relentlessly. Later, Mr. Li was transferred back to Hanchuan and sentenced to one year of forced labour. In Xiaogan Forced Labour Camp, Mr. Li again suffered savage torture, which resulted in him becoming extremely weak. He suffered oedema and asthma. In spite of this, when his term had expired they still didn't set him free. Mr. Li thus underwent a hunger strike and was released in December 2001. Since then his health deteriorated steadily, and Mr. Li passed away on May 26th 2005.

Mr. Cai Yong lived in Suwu County, Heilongjiang Province. He went to Beijing numerous times to appeal for Falun Gong after July 20th 1999. He was abducted and detained, but luckily escaped. Before the 2001 Chinese New Year he posted signs telling people the truth about Falun Dafa and was abducted and sentenced to three years of forced labour. His wife was sentenced to nine years in prison for practising Dafa. During the time he was held at Suihua Forced Labour Camp, Cai Yong was physically tortured and suffered severe mental torment. The perpetrators forced him to stand outside naked in the freezing winter. He contracted tuberculosis as a result, and passed away in late 2004.

Note:

(1) "The 610 office" is an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.

(2) "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/8/5/107769.html